It is a dark and stormy night..........................

It was very hot and humid today......too hot to go outside. So I spent the day inside keeping busy. And tonight we have thunderstorms...... had some heavy rain, which we actually needed because the grass was getting very dry.

The pictures I have for you today are from 2 weeks ago at the lake.....
"The Boys" love to ride on the pontoon.

Rollie just enjoys the ride.................
Gus keeps a careful watchful eye for "Shore Dogs". !!! It is very important to bark at dogs who are standing on their own dock.

Each dog gets a front seat on the pontoon.....

They just love to ride ...................

We are hoping for a nice weather weekend for the lake this weekend.........Labor Day......(sigh).....means the summer is about done......I need to petition for 2 more months of summer !~

Friday August 27........another trip into Minnesota

Friday was my husband's birthday.....and we took a little trip......to Bemidji, Minnesota.
Like the last trip we went to North Central Minnesota........there are LOTS of trees. Even tho they are very pretty.... I get rather claustrophobic going through miles and miles of trees. I am a prairie person......where you can see for miles and miles and miles........... Anyway......back to the story.

Right outside of Bemidji is Itasca State Park. This is the headwaters of the Mississippi River.......just a little creek in the middle of this pretty park. You would never know by looking at the Mighty Mississippi.......that is starts with just a little trickle. We didn't go into the park that day.....have to do that another time.

A pretty little church just outside the park.

Our trip to Bemidji was to visit Jeff's uncle....... "Uncle Buster" is Jeff's hero...... he was very instrumental in helping Jeff see the "right path" in his impressionable teenage years....

He is the sweetest man and I really enjoy going to visit him.

We had a wonderful visit and it was a great way to spend Jeff's birthday. After our visit we drove into town just to look around a bit..........Also stopped at a charming little quilt shop. I spent a little time there.....and Jeff took a little nap to rest up for the drive home.

For his birthday supper......we went to Mexican Village...(we go there every year for both our birthdays).......

A good day !!

The next post is a continuation of our day.....

Trip to Minnesota.......cont.

After our visit we drove into Bemidji and saw Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. They stand right by the lake as you drive through town. This Indian is just down the street from Paul and Babe.
A very pretty Lake Bemidji and park.
More trees going home !!.......
Now this is a field of "Giant Marshmallows"......ok not really ....it is hay bales all wrapped up.

As the end of August nears................

Saturday morning, Aug, 21, was just a bit foggy ! On our walk we found some great webs....... and the occupant was at home in this one.

It was fun to look at all the beautiful spider webs.

Milk weed........something we don't see many of anymore.

This is at a farm down the road.....it is an upside down tree......looks like a nest......and the carved wooden eagle sits by the nest.

Saturday was very hot and humid........and today is going to be hotter yet. Time to head to the water.

Nice Day !

I don't have any pictures for today.... It is a very nice day starting out today.........but the weatherman says more storms are brewing !
The garden is giving us lots of cucumbers and tomatoes..... the peas are done and we pulled them all out. I am waiting for some more beets !!
I will have to take some pictures of the little baby watermelons - they are so cute !!

So......back to work...... Have a great day !

A little sewing

A banner for Taylor's bowling patches.
Last year was the first year that my grandson Taylor bowled. He earned all these patches..... so he needed a way to display them. He can hang this on his wall now.

He got the "League High Average" award at the end of the season. A "Little Mermaid" pillowcase for a sweet little girl.

so... I got a couple things done....Onto the next project.

today is Sunday..............

These pictures are from last Wednesday, August 11, We drove to Grand Rapids, Minnesota... We had a funeral to go to there..... But these pictures are of LEECH LAKE near Walker, MN...
this is a HUGE lake....HUGE ! It almost looks like the ocean....the waves were rolling in on the beach....not from the wind....just the motion of the HUGE lake......LOL. The trees you see are an island.

A float plane I saw flying over.
Water for as far as you can see......

This was a beautiful stop by the side of the road....and there were many people sitting on the beach....
Our lakes where we go are not this large.

This is the view driving over there ...........all trees !!!! Me, from the flat open prairie almost gets claustrophobic driving through the trees...but it was a beautiful day..and everything is so green and pretty

It was a nice day......and I found a quilt shop in Grand Rapids, MN .....right across the street from where we were.....Got some of the "Quilt Minnesota" fabric made by Moda.

Rommegrot............

It was a cloudy, gloomy day........ and on days like this we need "comfort food". So...... You heat the cream and simmer it for about 20 minutes......then you add a little flour.......

Keep cooking it and you see the butter-fat starts to come out......... keep cooking it.......but keep a close eye on it. and MORE butter-fat....., be patient, let it cook out.....and spoon it off as it comes out......put it in a dish and keep warm...

then.....you add a bit more flour......a pinch of salt.....a shake of sugar........thin with hot milk... make sure it is well cooked........Dish it up and add the butter -fat........and cinnamon and sugar....

So this was my supper.......Sooooooooo gooooooooood...... And I can just feel my arteries clog up........but it is worth it.

Wish you were here to share it with me !!

Need to catch up

These are clouds from the storm south of us last weekend (in lakes country)..... This storm produced up to 7 tornadoes in SE North Dakota and SW Minnesota.. Luckily we were not affected by these storms....but they did destroy 2 farmsteads.

Good to watch at a distance....

This was a rain cloud to the east of the cabin last weekend.....one quick shower and that was it for us. Our lakes are very high this year....so we really don't need anymore added water.

Time to catch up on things...... We had a great weekend at the lake.....Hot when we got home.....HOT yesterday...... Muggy and hot today....with thunderstorms brewing. So.....guess I should put my car in the garage...that way nothing will happen.....if I leave it out.....we will get hail.... Or so my way of thinking.

The garden grew like crazy just over the weekend !! Sure was fun to want a green pepper last night for supper and to be able to just go pick one !! And it was very good.

So.....now today it looks like a good day to work on my "inside projects"..(yes, I have plenty to keep me busy !)

I will keep an eye on the weather today and let you know how we do.

We had fun on Saturday !!

Jeff's mother has been talking about wanting to ride the jet ski - so we told her that today is the day !!! ......so Saturday afternoon she said she would go for a ride !

She wouldn't want me to tell you her age.....but let's say she is a "Senior Citizen"...LOL

And she really did like it !!! She liked it when Jeff went fast !!!...(I don't go very fast myself)...

The lake was very calm yesterday and it was a great day for riding............BUT everyone else thought it was a great day out on the lake too.......swimmers......skiers.......kite surfing......paddle boats....pontoons.......fishing boats...... EVERYBODY was out there...... so I kept looking for a quiet part of the lake.....

So this is now picture proof that "Grandma" rode the jet ski !!

A Fabulous Friday !!

My front door flower pot.

Yummy bread pudding !

LOVE those pretty morning glories !!

" The sun is shining ........the grass is green.............. the orange and palm trees sway"....... - Oh wait....that is a song for another season !!.....

" Summertime................and the living is easy........"....... there - that's better....

We really have had some beautiful days !!... But alas.....it is Friday.... time to go to the cabin for the weekend....and they are predicting storms for our area and the lakes area for tomorrow.

Well.....we will see how it goes.

WE FEST at Detroit Lakes, MN......and if you don't know what that is.....check out We Fest 2010. Google it and see what it is all about.....it is the largest outdoor concert in this area....and they are expecting 50,000 people each day for general admission... It started Thursday and goes through Sunday.......and I just hate to think of what it is like if it rains......YUCK. I personally have never been there......and as much as I love the country music and would love to see the big names they have there...... I am not willing to brave the people and the heat and the YUCK......LOL....oh well.....guess I am a not very adventurous.

Finally remembered to take a picture of my morning glory......the blooms are hiding under the leaves.... but they are so pretty.

I watered the garden this morning......we picked LOTS of peas and beans.....and they are just wonderful !!. So fun to have fresh veggies. I am taking all that I have picked along to the lake..and make stuff out of them for the weekend. Rollie needs to go swimming......hopefully Gus will go too !!! ........I need to ride the jet ski !!!..... So the bad weather better hold off for awhile !!!. If we get there early enough today........there is time for a long ride around the lake.

Last night I made bread pudding...... and I make "hard sauce" like my Grandma used to make.

My husband likes whipped cream on his but I just LOVE the hard sauce.....so the pudding looked so good I just had to share a picture of it !

Well......time to haul up the cooler.....and see what I have to take with...... and then tomorrow I will have to watch the radar and see what the weather is going to cook up for us !

I will get some "summer pics" while I am there.......

Have a great weekend everyone !!!

................Claudia